The Princess Blog

Back when I was a pre-teen in the '90s borrowing recorded VHS tapes of Sailor Moon from my friends who had cable, I never imagined that one day I would see a cast of professional Japanese actresses portraying the characters in a live musical! Musical adaptations of anime are fairly common in Japan, whereas America just gets the occasional Disney on Broadway adaptation. The North American tour of  Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Super Live  began in Pittsburgh last week on March 12th. I attended the official opening night yesterday in Austin and had my first introduction to the world of Japanese musical theatre. The show was presented to an enthusiastic crowd of cosplayers and life-long fans of the series. Light sticks that could be used to participate in the rave-style concert that took place after the main show were sold at the merchandise booth. The musical is an abridged summary of the show's first arc, which covers the Dark Kingdom saga and introduces all of the inner s...

Over the years, I frequently referenced the mermaid stories by my long-time friend, Kae-Leah Williamson . Today, she has completed her longest mermaid book yet, Pearlina and the Water Faery , which is free to read on Wattpad! This is the latest story in her series of reimagined fairy tales that take place in undersea fantasy kingdoms of merfolk and talking fish. Pearlina  is a loose retelling of "Thumbelina"  that ties into the other books Kae-Leah has written on Wattpad and includes tons of Easter egg-style references to Don Bluth , Hans Christian Andersen, and "The Little Mermaid."  Over the time I have known Kae-Leah, she has grown exponentially as a writer, and this is her best work yet. When an ancient mermaid mourns the distant loss of her daughter, a prince's favor grants her a magic shell promised to grant her heart's desire. From the shell emerges Pearlina, a dark-skinned mermaid the size of a Barbie doll. Pearlina helps to care for her mother in th...

I was completely enamored by Beauty in the Tower , the first book I read in the Realms of Caelia series by Sara Farnsworth , so I jumped at the chance to read an ARC of her newest book, Ella & the Seven Dwarves ,  which comes out on April 4th. This book is a combined retelling of "Cinderella" and "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"  with elements of "Swan Lake" and "The Wild Swans"  that are incorporated from the previous Realms of Caelia book, Lake of the Wild Swans . This breathtakingly magical series combines the lore of many fairy tales and myths to create a world of enchantment and wonder. Sara Farnsworth also does a great job building up love stories that feel organic and heartwarming. Princess Ella seems to have it all--a loving father, a royal lineage, and a handsome prince who cares about her dearly. Everything goes wrong when her father marries a greedy woman with two vain daughters and falls ill shortly after. When Ella's love,...

Today marks the fourth consecutive year that I have attended the Cedar Park High School Choir's annual Princess Tea , and it was just as magical as ever! From the Chinese dragon photo station to the red lanterns on the stage and the tables, the high school theater was transformed into ancient China. Mulan hosted this year's concert of princesses and heroes for Mulan's Camp of Courage. Although the boys of the Pitch Black choral group had astounding harmonies and many comedic moments, they took even more of a backseat than previous years to the princesses of the evening who were performed by the Seasons. The show consisted of well-known Disney songs loosely woven together by a competition of courage led by Mulan. The biggest surprise characters of the evening were Princess Leia and Han Solo of Star Wars  fame. Although they didn't perform a solo number, there were lots of fun quips about the time they spent on other planets. Leia surprised everyone with her recipe for ch...

Every year on February 26th, some of the most talented fairy tale authors in the world get together to share games, promotions, and free books in honor of National Tell a Fairy Tale Day . This year, not only has Brittany Fichter launched her annual Once Upon 2025  celebration again with a large group of authors, but Callie Thomas  has also gotten in on the fun as well with a fairy tale adventure of her own. Due to the number of authors involved, these online parties can be a bit time-consuming if you wish to participate in every event. It's especially challenging for those of us with full-time jobs or other commitments because the games and freebies tend to vanish after National Fairy Tale Day is over. For that reason, it's a good idea to plan for this day ahead of time and start early so you don't miss out on the fun.  It's too bad it doesn't take place on a weekend! This year, I decided to start my morning with Callie Thomas's Fairy Tale Adventure  because i...

Cursed Princess Club  is a webtoon comic that was later converted into an "unscrolled" series of graphic novels . Although the series was completed recently, I have only read the first two graphic novels, which cover about half the story. Still, I'd like to make a post about it because I found this series incredibly uplifting for princess fans who feel they don't fit the mold. It's full of humor, bright pastel aesthetics, and surprising antics. The main character is similar to Emily from Corpse Bride  in the respect that she sees herself as feminine and princess-like and is surprised when others don't due to her unusual appearance. She was brought up by a loving family who sheltered her and her two sisters, who fit a more generic princess mold with their blue eyes and pale hair. It's a story about staying true to yourself despite how others see you and subverting expectations. Princess Gwendolyn's life in the Pastel Kingdom is turned upside-down when h...

Ties of Starlight  by Celeste Baxendell  is the first ARC I've had the pleasure of reading from the upcoming Tethered Hearts series . This multi-author series features romantasy plots about couples who are brought together through magical bonds. I am fortunate enough to be on the street team for these riveting stories by many of my favorite authors. The first book will be released on March 7th, and the one I am reviewing here will come out the following week on March 14th. This book follows Celeste Baxendell's typical writing style  of couples who face terrible obstacles that test their love until they realize how much they need each other to be happy. Although I haven't read the other Tethered Hearts books yet, this will probably be one of the darker ones in the series. It is the first book that Celeste has written about elves, which she plans to expand into other books that take place in this new fantasy setting. Idonea is a half-elf who was chosen to become part o...

Enchanting Fate  by Ashley Evercott  is a twisted retelling of "Beauty and the Beast"  in which the girl destined to break the beast's spell falls in love with one of the other cursed residents of the castle. It is the first book in the Fairy Tales of Gallia series, which is likely to contain other twists on popular stories. Fractured fairy tales are a popular niche , and I'll admit this was a concept I hadn't seen before in a retelling. The characters' motivations are clear, and their struggles are understandable. However, the solution to their problem seems so obvious that some chapters are frustrating to get through. I just wanted to see everyone live out their happy ending with their true love and stop obsessing so much over a misunderstood solution to the curse. Marguerite is the daughter of a merchant whose business is about to go under. To restore her family's legacy, she must marry a wealthy nobleman who she doesn't particularly care for. Howev...

Disney was once famous for producing the most screen-accurate adaptations of well-known fairy tales, but their mission has strayed in recent years . Their current fairy tales are either soulless remakes of their animated classics  or stories that shy so far from the original source material that they can barely be considered adaptations. Nowadays, if you want to see classic stories from the past  brought to life on screen, you must turn to other studios. In a way, this post is the opposite of my "Ten Alternatives to Disney's Live-Action Remakes"  since that was a list of movies that were more creative and original with their ideas, and these are movies that stick as close to the source as possible. If you want to see the stories from your childhood brought to life on screen, this is the post for you. Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (1957) Disney produced a beautiful remake of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella  starring Brandy in 1997, but the first produc...

I have thoroughly enjoyed every book I've read so far by Abigail Manning , so I figured it would be worthwhile to check out her Once Upon a Rhyme series , which takes popular nursery rhymes and weaves them into fairy tales. The first book, The Itsy Bitsy Liar , is inspired by "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," but it contains no spiders. Instead, it is an exciting princess story that combines elements of "Cinderella,"   The Princess and the Pauper , and "The Brave Little Tailor."  It exceeded all my expectations and provides a powerful commentary on honesty  with an adorable fairy tale romance. Lacey Arachne leads a rough life. Her father was imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. To prevent her from talking, the jealous daughter of the real criminal used magic to curse Lacey so she could only speak in lies. This made it nearly impossible for Lacey to find work. Every polite or humble thing she said would come off as rude and dissenting. Therefore, it was...

Just when I thought I'd seen every creative way to retell a fairy tale , a new series called  The Princess Swap series  showed up at my library. At first glance,  Cinderella and the Beast (or, Beauty and the Glass Slipper)  by Kim Bussing appears to be a simple case of mistaken identity as two princesses wind up in the wrong story. However, it is actually much more than that. In fact, these two misplaced heroines wind up exactly where they need to be to learn important lessons and grow into the iconic princesses they were meant to be. The book ages down its protagonists to 12 to match its ideal reader's age and forgoes the romance from these classic stories in favor of more relevant themes including friendship , forgiveness , and perseverance . It even has a touch of disability inclusion  with Ella's glass leg. One minute, Ella is at home, minding her own business, and the next, she finds herself in an unfamiliar land surrounded by strangers. She learns that...

I have now read a quarter of the books in the Hope Ever After series , a multi-author collaboration of fairy tale retellings to help fight human trafficking. My most recent read is A Faithful Hope  by DaLeena Taylor , which might be my favorite in the series thus far. This book retells an obscure French fairy tale called "The Blue Bird,"  which was translated in  The Green Fairy Book . This story has it all--an outcast princess, a broken kingdom to restore, a magical transformation , and a love story to stand the test of time. I was hooked from the first page and riveted by all the twists and turns this detailed story took. It is a faithful gender-swapped depiction of the fairy tale. In this version, the princess turns into a bluebird instead of the prince. Princess Aderyn's kingdom is in crisis. Her family and their subjects need the healing properties of silver to survive, but the kingdom has run dangerously low on its supply. To save everyone, Aderyn enters an arrange...